See Parookaville’s transformation into Germany’s largest festival over the years
Stationed at Germany’s Weeze Airport near the Dutch border, Parookaville Music Festival takes on a whole life of its own, staged as an entirely independent city of its own, designed for a special kind of revelry. With a heavy-hitting lineup each passing year, this year’s talent roster comes complete with some dance music’s most in-demand performers, some of which include Oliver Heldens, KSHMR, Tiësto, Amelie Lens, Kayzo, Dom Dolla, and many more. Since Parookaville’s inception in 2015, the festival has undergone some major upgrades, and as the event’s 2022 run kicks off, running July 22 – July 24, Dancing Astronaut is looking back to shed light on the festival’s meteoric come up. Take a trip down memory lane as Germany’s largest music festival gets underway.
2015
Dance music’s collision with the mainstream in the mid-to-late-2000 really was a moment in time. DJs took no prisoners, churning out chart toppers that had clubs packed, pop stars pining to ride the burgeoning EDM wave, and ultimately set the stage for today’s multi-billion dollar enterprise. In 2014, tracks like Alesso‘s “Heroes (we could be),” Armin van Buuren‘s “Save My Night,” and Steve Aoki‘s “Boneless,” were dropping left and right, which, should come as a shock to none, helped land them headlining slots on Parookaville’s debut lineup the following year. Hosting 80 selectors across seven stages, the festival comfortably housed around 40,000 attendees, affectionately referred to as Citizens.
2016
Come 2016, Parookaville added more than 50 performing DJs culminating in 150 total acts across an extra three stages, plus double the amount of ticket-holders. This new lineup welcomed back Steve Aoki, while adding major star power from the likes of Tiësto, Axwell Λ Ingrosso, and Afrojack, to name a few.
2017
By the following year, the lineup continued to boast the biggest names in the industry, upping the ante in 2017 with another crop of top-name performers as the festival continued to scale. By Parookaville’s third run, the event was bringing in David Guetta, DJ Snake, Robin Schulz, of course Mr. Aoki, along with more than 200 of their peers. This list of players unsurprisingly grew, while the festival itself grew to accommodate nearly 180,000 Citizens in attendance, comparable to the size of Ultra’s flagship Miami event. The event’s matchless 10-stage design continued to make Parookaville one of the most unique events in the world.
2018
While the festival’s hyper-growth phase leveled out by 2018 and organizers decided to maintain a similar size and structure to the prior year’s event, the festival poured resources into booking one of the most high-powered lineups of the year. Teaming up with more than 50 additional DJs including Martin Garrix, ZEDD, and Solomun, Parookaville continued to deepen its roots as one of western Europe’s most sought-after events, while maintaining the same scale and level of quality Citizens had gladly returned for three years running.
2019
As dance music continues to dominate the charts around the world, the festival’s most recent affair pre-pandemic was its largest celebration yet—landing at 210,000 Citizens, more than 300 performers, and more headlining acts than ever before. Inclusive of previous lineups, in 2019 Parookaville offered Alesso, Armin van Buuren, Steve Aoki, DJ Snake, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Robin Schulz, along with new headliners like NERVO, The Chainsmokers, Alan Walker, and many more.
For its first year back in three years, Parookaville is slated to have more than 300+ acts promised for the 2022 edition, including Afrojack, KSHMR, and an exclusive back-to-back set from Yellow Claw and Brennan Heart. And not to forget Krewella, Nicky Romero, WHIPPED CREAM, and many, many more to take the massive 10+ stage event. With an impressive track record for growth and scalability over the last seven years, the premier German dance affair, now the country’s largest music festival, is said to be one of the most fantastic events of the summer. We’re thrilled to find out.
Featured image: Alive Coverage
Categories: Features